Lucifer Season 2 Adds Former Buffy Star Charisma Carpenter

In recent years, the TV landscape has become filled with a bevy of protagonists that can sometimes be very hard to actually root for, such as Breaking Bad’s chemistry teacher-turned-meth kingpin Walter White or The Shield’s violent, corrupt cop Vic Mackey. That said, if there’s a character impossible for the masses to cheer on, it should logically be The Devil. Whether he’s referred to as the Prince of Darkness, the Father of Lies, or one of a million other nicknames, Satan really shouldn’t be a character that’s easy to like, what with being the embodiment of pure evil and all that.

Yet, that feat is exactly what FOX dramedy Luciferseems to have managed to do. Starring charismatic Welsh actor Tom Ellis, Lucifer focuses on titular devil Lucifer Morningstar, who has grown increasingly bored with running Hell’s day to day operations. Desiring new surroundings, Lucifer heads to Los Angeles, and soon begins solving cases alongside outsider LAPD detective Chloe Decker. Why would Lucifer want to solve crimes, one may ask? The answer is simple: for the fun of exposing sinners in public. He’s also fascinated with Chloe because she is somehow immune to the effects of his infernal powers.

After a highly rated debut season, Lucifer easily scored a season 2 renewal, and the pressure is on to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. One step Lucifer’s producers appear to be taking in order to ensure fan enjoyment is bringing on actors with high amounts of geek cred to shore up season 2’s roster. Earlier this summer, it was announced that Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) had been cast as Lucifer’s mother. Now, EW reports that Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel alum Charisma Carpenter has been booked for a guest starring role.

Carpenter is set to appear in episode 5 of Lucifer season 2 as Jamie Lee Adrienne, an aging – but still quite beautiful – former Playboy Playmate. Trapped in a seemingly loveless marriage to a former action movie star, Jamie’s outward appearance suggests genuine feelings of misery, but that may only be a front. One assumes that Lucifer’s mental powers will enable him to get beneath her facade and learn the truth.

Carpenter is of course best known for her aforementioned work as mean-girl-turned-good Cordeila Chase on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. Some of her other notable credits include a stint on Veronica Mars, and a supporting role in Sylvester Stallone’s Expendables series. Interestingly, Carpenter is herself a former Playboy Playmate, suggesting that perhaps the role was written specifically for her.

With its offbeat premise and wicked lead character, many were of the opinion that Lucifer would never work on a mainstream broadcast network like FOX, and might have been better served on cable or streaming. Thankfully for those who’ve come to love the show, that very much wasn’t the case, with Lucifer standing as FOX’s 5th highest rated scripted series of the 2015-2016 TV season. It’ll be interesting to see if this devil can work similar magic on viewers again this fall.